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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Fear the baby?

I hesitated to write this because it will probably make people mad. I was reading another blog and was struck by how miserable many of the commenters appeared to be about not being able to cheerfully use contraception.The gist of it was that nobody wanted to risk having another baby but they really didn't like NFP either. Last year I read a truly pitiful comment by a man who said that his wife had simply given up and bolted. She got on the Pill, left him, the Church and found a new man.

I recall a query on a discussion board from years ago from a newlywed man who had been unhappily celibate since his honeymoon. He said his wife was afraid of getting pregnant. Some people advised him to be patient and try romance. Others suggested that he get a better job and reassure her that she wasn't going to turn into a household drudge. Others suggested marital counseling. One person wrote in and said in essence, "Dude you've been had. Go to your priest and demand an annulment." I occasionally wonder what happened to that young couple.

2 comments:

I read several books by Michael E. Jones who is a sociologist and a student of modern culture. I saw the title of this book and had to read it. Jones' premise is that horror fiction, whether in books or now in movies, is a subliminal glance at our most primal fears. The book is a stretch at times, but his take on the blockbuster movie, "Alien," is dead on in my opinion. I'd hate to spoil the book if you are interested but a monster that explodes from the abdomen only to grow and to create more of its kind is the object of dread in the movie. In short, the fear of carrying a child and going through childbirth is a dread of many in our culture. The heroine manages to kill the beast in the end.